


Love Afar

by seraphicseeker (orphan_account)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Misunderstandings, Rejection, Relationship Advice, Requited Unrequited Love, Some Humor, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony isn't Iron Man
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-16 15:55:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14168358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/seraphicseeker
Summary: Basically, Tony isn't Iron man, in fact, he hates the man underneath the suit. Why? Because Steve is in love with him instead of Tony. Oh, and did he forget to mention that Steve asked him for advice on romance... on his worst enemy.





	Love Afar

**Author's Note:**

> I really wanted to write an AU where Tony isn't iron man, just fixes him like a mechanic. And it turned 3k. Yay! Tell me what you guys think. Sorry for any errors.
> 
> Comments and Kudos are lovely and appreciated.

It sucked being in love with someone who didn't love them back. Tony sighed as he watched Steve talk to Iron man, smiling and laughing at something the hero said. He grumbled in the kitchen. Why couldn't Steve be like that with him?

Tony made himself coffee and decided to go back to the workshop. He needed to fix the suit from Iron man. It got pretty damaged in the last fight with a villain— which Tony couldn't remember because he didn't know all of them, besides, he had more important stuff to do.

"Hey, Tony," Steve said, following him.

"What's up, Cap?" Tony turned around and gave him a small, tired smile. "Are you finally going to accept my dinner invitation?" He wriggled his eyebrows.

"Uh, no." Tony shrugged. It was worth a try. Steve always said no to going out, but that didn't stop Tony from doing it every time. Maybe, just maybe, Steve would say  _yes_  one day. "I actually was hoping if you can give me advice..."

"Advice?" Tony raised a brow. "Like,  _love_  advice?"

Steve ducked down, cheeks tinted pink, then said, "Y-Yes. I'm not really good with romance. I really like Iron man, and since you know him best..." he trailed off.

Tony's heart cracked. His mind was screaming to say ' _no_ ', but his heart was telling him to help a fellow teammate. Where they even teammates? Tony never went out of the Stark Tower to battle villains. No. He stayed in his lab, building weapons that would improve the Avengers.

"I'd be happy to help!" He forced a smile. "I can even give you a few pointers that'll work like a charm." Tony winked, making Steve tense and then slowly nod.

"I would appreciate it. Please don't tell anyone. I don't want others to find out about this." Steve seemed ashamed, as if being in love with Iron man was wrong.

"You have my word." He made the gesture to zip his mouth.

"Thank you, Tony," with that being said, Steve left.

Tony's coffee got cold, like his heart. What else was new?

* * *

"What is this?" Steve asked the following day. He eyed the table with lit candles and wine. "I thought you were going to give me advice."

"I am," Tony said, "but with style!" He was wearing a lovely tux with a black bowtie— What? He wanted to try something different. "Everybody loves romantic dinners and," Tony clapped his hands, "jazz music." The room was suddenly filled with the sound of saxophones.

"I think this is a bit too much," Steve admitted.

"Steven," Tony did a fake gasp, "there's never too much!"

"If you say so," Steve muttered. He looked at Tony's outfit, then scanned himself. He was wearing brown khaki pants and a light blue button-down shirt: casual. Steve grimaced. "I'm underdressed."

"Nonsense! You look fabulous," Tony reassured. He pulled back a chair for Steve. "Let's get started, shall we?" His mouth curved upwards when Steve walked to him and sat. Tony pushed his seat. "Always be a gentleman."

"Noted."

This was going to be fun.

Tony taught Steve the ways of wooing: flirt, compliment, and smile. That simple. The first hour was extremely uncomfortable for Steve because he kept trying to flirt with Tony, as practice. Not that Tony was complaining.

Then after that, Steve relaxed when he realized that Tony was genuinely trying to help him by telling him what he was going wrong, and so on.

"Wow. You suck at this." Tony shook his head.

"Well... you're good at this," Steve finished, lamely.

"You have a lot to learn. Don't worry, Steve. We have all the time in the world," Tony smiled.

They practiced all week when they weren't too busy doing their jobs. Captain America saving the world; and Tony working in the computer room, guiding the other avengers— mostly Iron man and JARVIS— while they were battling.

Even if Steve couldn't see Tony as someone to love, he was happy to have Steve as a true friend. It was more than enough.

The next time they practiced wooing, Tony was shocked when Steve wore a tux and pulled his chair for him. Tony pretended to wipe a tear as he said, "Congratulations, Rogers. You got it."

Steve made the biggest smile Tony had ever seen.

* * *

Tony and Steve were laughing in the kitchen. Something about Clint not getting a joke Steve said earlier. They've been hanging out for a few weeks, and it was nice. It's like they were together, but were not.

"It's going to be a shame when you're with Iron man," Tony said, laugh dying down. "We're not going to be making fun of Clint." As he craned his head to look at Steve, he frowned when Steve made an unreadable expression. Did he get upset that Tony mentioned Iron man?

"Tony, I need to tell you—" He was interrupted by Natasha.

"We have an emergency! Someone's attacking nearby," she said. "Let's suit up!"

Both boys rushed into action. Steve went to suit up, while Tony when to his computer room. Then Tony wondered what Steve was going to say before they were disturbed.

* * *

Today could not get any worse.

"Sir, there appears to be a malfunction in the suit," JARVIS' voice echoed through the screen. This was bad. The armor took a harsh hit.

"Shit!" Tony shouted. "I need to get there." He typed on the computer, then announced, "JARVIS, you know what to do. Don't let Iron man go into attack mode until I fix the problem."

"Understood, sir."

Tony grabbed his back and left the room. The avengers were fighting near the Central Park. Tony had no clue what he was going to do once he reached the area, but he needed to get to Iron man asap. No suit, means no Iron man.

JARVIS would listen to him. No doubt. Sure, Iron man was going to get pissed when JARVIS won't activate the blasters. But it was for the best.

He borrowed— well, took— a SHIELD car and headed straight to the fighting scene. It wasn't too far. Tony could see lighting from the sky, striking from behind a skyscraper. Thor was most likely there.

No sighting from Iron man in the sky. Good. JARVIS must have flown Iron man into hiding. Tony put his ear piece on, where he communicated with JARVIS and Iron man, and said, "JARVIS, where's the location?"

"Tony," Iron man hissed. "What do you think you're doing? Deactivate JARVIS, now! We're in the middle of a battle!"

"No can do, big guy. I need to fix the suit, can't have you risking everybody's life. JARVIS, location?" Tony did a wide turn, then pressed on the gas petal. He squinted as he saw Captain America on a car, shielding himself before attacking the villain—

Seriously, Tony needed to get the name of these villains.

"A block away from you, sir. I immobilize the suit, just as you requested."

"Almost there. Stay put." Tony ignored the snort coming from the other line. He was so getting in trouble.

Tony found Iron man behind a crushed car, and he could see the angry gaze behind the faceplate. He saw an electric sparkle coming from his shoulder. The armor didn't seem too damage, however, that didn't mean the wires within the suit couldn't be broken.

"You're so going to get it, Stark!" Iron man hissed.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do me a favor and shut up while I fix this." Iron man did as he was told. Tony flinched when he heard an explosion behind him. God, he had never been in this position before. Explosions. Ground shaking. What's next? He focused on the suit so he wouldn't panic.

"JARVIS, is the suit stabilizing."

"It is, sir," JARVIS answered. He did it.

"I could've told you that!" Iron man snapped.

"Not likely. Besides, JARVIS is the one mostly navigating the suit. You're just the  _dummy_ ," Tony said in a smug tone. He heard someone yelling, but the explosions were tuning it out. Tony turned and saw Clint pointing up in a hysterical way.

"What?" Tony exclaimed. He tilted his head before going back to Iron man. "JARVIS, deactivate. I think I'm done here." As he turned back to Clint, his eyes widened when he saw both Captain America and Hawkeye running towards him.

Suddenly, he felt sand falling on him and a loud rumble from above. Tony looked up and froze as the side of the building broke apart. Fuck... Tony heard JARVIS from his ear piece, "Now would be a good time to run, sir."

"Right!" Tony ran as fast as he could, trying to reach to Steve and Clint. He avoided any concrete bits that were scattering over him. He was going to make it. He was going to make it. But everything went too fast.

Then darkness overcame him.

* * *

Tony groaned. He blinked, trying to focus on his vision; where was he? As he shifted, tremendous pain coursed through his body. He couldn't feel his left leg and his arm was aching like a bitch.

"Don't move, Tony," Steve said firmly.

Tony's head snapped to the side, surprised. Steve was right there, and he looked angry. "Steve? What happened?" He really wanted to know what was going on; his mind was a little hazy from earlier.

"A wall fell on you," Steve shut his eyes, before opening them, "and you almost died, Tony. Iron man tried to protect you... but you got injured anyway." He glanced at Tony's arm and leg, which were in a cast.

"Broken?" Tony swallowed as he followed Steve's gaze. Now he remembered. The building collapsed on him. He was lucky to be alive.

"Yes. What were you thinking?" Steve nearly shouted. "You weren't supposed to be there!" He paced around and ran a hand over his blond hair.

"Iron man's suit had a malfunction, Steve," Tony argued. "I had to do something."

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming? I could've had your back." He narrowed his eyes, turning around to look into Tony's eyes. "I had to hear this from Clint."

"You were busy with the bad guy." Tony lightly shrugged. Steve scowled and shook his head. Wrong answer.

"Why do you always do that?" Steve demanded. "Why are you scared of getting help?"

Now it was Tony's turn to get mad. "Because I don't need help! I can manage on my own. Just because I'm not an official Avenger doesn't mean I'm useless!" he confessed, averted his gaze.

Steve seemed confused, then frowned, as if he finally got what was making Tony irk. "You don't consider yourself an Avenger?"

"Last time I checked, I'm not one," Tony scoffed. "Iron man is. Not me."

"Tony..." Steve whispered, and ouch, Tony really didn't need to hear sympathy, or pity.

"Leave me alone, Cap. Go be with Iron man. He's the one you want anyway," Tony said bitterly. He clutched onto his cast with his good hand. "I'm just his noble sidekick."

Steve opened his mouth, ready to protest, but stopped as he noticed the pain Tony was in. Now wasn't the time to fight and argue. "I'll leave you alone. But we are going to talk about this, okay?"

"Fine," he replied with a snort. Tony watched Steve exit the room. A pang of guilt washed over Tony for asking Steve to leave. He didn't want him to go. But it had to be done.

"Any reason why Captain America looks like a kicked puppy?" Clint wondered, entering inside the room.

Tony refrained himself from shrugging for the sake of his arm. "Maybe he saw a sad poster down the hall. This place is crawling with them."

"Tony..." Clint sighed.

"Not you too!"

"What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking about saving Iron man's ass," Tony countered. Jesus Christ. Was he going to get a lecture from every member?

"I heard, and he's pissed at you." He sat on the chair as he talked. "I have to ask: why don't you let him have full control of the suit?"

Tony paused. "Let me give you an example. Would you let a kid play with your bow and arrow?"

"No. I'd be scared of them hurting themselves or others—  _Oh_. I get it now." Clint put his feet on the edge of the bed, careful not to touch Tony's cast. "That's actually smart of you. You don't trust Iron man a hundred percent?"

"Not even twenty percent, Barton." Tony tried to sit up, which was rather difficult with a broken leg.

"Need help?" Clint offered, climbing to his feet.

"I'm ok—" Then he remembered Steve's words:  _Why are you scared of getting help?_ He wasn't. Tony just didn't want to bother the team with mundane stuff. Deep down Tony was afraid, maybe Steve was right. As he debated with himself, he stammered, "Y-You know what, I do need help."

Clint seemed taken aback, like he expected Tony to deny, nevertheless he helped him up. "Easy. Can't have you suing my ass."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Tony laughed. Strangely, it didn't feel wrong to get help.

* * *

Tony was released from the hospital four days later. Thank god. He was beginning to go crazy in there. He was itching to go back to the lab and work on machines. Clint, Natasha, and Thor had kept him company.

Steve had showed up a few times but it was awkward and quiet. Iron man never visited him, much to Tony's relief.

Tony waited for Clint in the waiting room, in a wheel chair— Doctor's orders. Clint had offered to take Tony back to Stark Tower. However, it wasn't Clint who showed up...

"Steve. What a pleasant surprise," Tony said with a tight smile. He had a feeling that Natasha put him up to this. "Where's Clint? Thought he was coming?" Natasha sensed tension between him and Steve, so she was probably behind whatever she made Clint do.

Steve cleared his throat, and said, "He got busy with errands. So here I am."

Figures.

"Alright. Let's blow this joint. I need to see what JARVIS has been up to." He was prohibited by his team to use technology while he was in the hospital. It sucked. Tony needed to know what was going on from the outside.

Steve nodded. He wheeled Tony to the car, where Happy was waiting for them. Both went quiet as soon as the back door opened. Tony glanced at his casts, then towards Steve and said with a sigh, "Just so you know, I hate being carried bridal style."

"Right..."

* * *

Steve basically half-carried his ass into his room once they arrived at the Stark Tower. JARVIS made it easier for them by opening the doors for them. The clutches were under Tony's uninjured arm, but they were useless and bulky, thus making it impossible to move rapidly for Tony. Not that he'd able to use his broken arm anyway.

Tony had said no to help— because damn it, he didn't need it— but saying no to Captain America was a little difficult. "Thanks, Steve. It would've taken me hours to get up here."

Steve gently lay him down. The mattress was rather comfy than the couch in the workshop, not that Tony would ever admit.

"I don't want him," Steve said softly.

"Excuse me?" Tony pursed his lips and stared at Steve in confusion.

"You said in the hospital that I want Iron man—" Steve paused, gulping as he continued, "Well, I don't anymore. I want you."

Tony let out a hollow laugh. "You do know that sounds ridiculous, right? You being in love with me?" He avoided looking into Steve's hurt expression. "You sure got me, Cap."

"This isn't a joke. I love you—"

"Don't say it!" Tony snapped. "You don't know what you're talking about. Just a few weeks ago you asked me to help you with Iron man. You can't suddenly change— like that. You don't know what love is," his voice trembled, thick with tears.

"I thought I did. But then... I really got to know you. You opened my eyes, Tony. You made me feel something I haven't felt in a long time. And I'm talking about the 40s."

"You know I've been in love with you ever since I met you," Tony stated. "I tried so hard to get you to like me. I asked you out, flirted, and made you a new suit. For months, Steve! So excuse me for not believing you." Tony rubbed his eyes as he felt tears coming down. Shit. He didn't want to deal with this now. He was tired and hurting: both psychically and emotionally.

"I-I didn't know." Steve sat down beside him, careful, he didn't want Tony kicking him out of his room.

"Sure you didn't," Tony huffed.

"I thought I was just a conquest."

Tony snorted. "Did you read the tabloids: Tony Stark sleeping around with people? Tony the womanizer, at it again? Well, sorry for being a slut. That was back then, I'm different now. I've changed into a better man."

"Now I feel like a jerk," Steve mused. "I shouldn't have listened to Iron man—"

"What?" Tony inquired. Iron man said something to Steve about him?

"He told me that you just wanted to have fun with me. Not to take it seriously. I guess I listened to him because he knows you best."

"Are you aware that we don't get along," Tony said. "That guy basically hates my guts."

Steve's eyes widened, gaping, like this was the first time he heard about this. "But you help him—"

"He is in my suit, which by the way cost millions of dollars. Of course I care more about the suit than him! I created that thing with my bare hands. Why do you think he's not fully in charge of that thing? JARVIS has more authority than him."

"No wonder he hates JARVIS." Steve glanced towards the ceiling and said, "No offence, JARVIS."

"None taken, sir. I, myself, am not fond of Iron man," JARVIS replied with a dull tone. If JARVIS had a face he'd probably roll his eyes.

"Let me get this straight. If you hadn't listened to Iron man, we could've been together and having sex?" He was going to modify the suit by adding an ejecting option. That would teach Iron man a lesson.

Steve blushed as he smacked Tony's shoulder— his injured side.

"Ow! Fuck," Tony cussed, prompting Steve to panic and say, "I forgot! This is why you shouldn't say dirty remarks." Steve massaged the sore spot.

Tony couldn't help but laugh, not caring that he was in pain. "So, are you going to finally accept my dinner invitation?" he asked, like he did weeks ago. "Because I know a great place to dine."

"After you get better," Steve stated.

"Yeah, sure. Answer?" Tony sounded so hopeful.

Steve said in a sweet tone, "I'd be delighted. Someone did teach me how to  _woo_ , after all."


End file.
